An electronic system, such as a server, for example, may include components mounted on printed circuit boards, such as daughtercards, backplane boards, motherboards, midplane boards, and the like, that are interconnected to transfer power and data signals throughout the system. A typical midplane connector assembly may include electrical connectors disposed on opposite sides of a midplane circuit board, such that the electrical connectors are in electrical communication with each other. The electrical connectors may in turn be connected to a motherboard, daughtercard, backplane, and the like.
In some connector systems, there is a need to electrically connect an electronic component (e.g., daughtercard, etc.) positioned on one side or surface of a midplane circuit board to a corresponding electronic component (e.g., daughtercard, etc.) positioned on an opposite side or surface of the midplane circuit board. In one approach, pins from two contact modules extend into matching holes (i.e., the same through-hole or via) in a midplane circuit board. One set of pins extends into the holes from one side of the midplane circuit board, and the other set of pins extends into the same set of holes from the other side of the midplane circuit board. In another approach, only one pin is inserted into each hole in the midplane. Each of the single pins extends beyond the first and second surfaces of the midplane, and the pins receive plastic headers.
Such a configuration of matching holes or using common holes in the printed circuit board to provide electrical communication between two connectors may have disadvantages, such as requiring a thicker midplane than otherwise necessary. As such, there is a need for alternative configurations to overcome such disadvantages.